New questions

Dec. 14, 2012

Written by

Free Press Staff Writer

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George Webb, a retired scientist, is working on a hunch and a question. The hunch: A steady rise in Chittenden Countyís population isnít healthy. The question: How can this be quantified?

Webb, a Burlington resident, is professor emeritus at the University of Vermontís department of molecular physiology and biophysics. He is also emerging as a Sierra Club activist.

Burlington Free Press: Is this a new direction for you?

George Webb: I got out of the loop for awhile, but now Iím re-entering it. Just last month I was appointed chair a newly created Sustainable Population Committee at the Vermont Sierra Club.

BFP: Does your advocacy mesh with your professional work?

GW: ... Population has been a side interest of mine for quite some time. Iíve been a member of the Sierra Club since the í60s.

BFP: Is the formation of the population committee significant?

GW: It is. The national Sierra Club has an active population group, but they work mostly on world population. But discussions of population in the U.S. have not been easy: Immigration has been a sticky political issue here. Itís unfortunate. ...

What this committee does is recognize that most of our environmental problems are the result of people: The more people there are, the more problems weíre going to get.

BFP: Is there any feasible way for Chittenden County to assess how many people is should have, ideally?

GW: Itís a tough issue to crack, as to what should be the maximum population. There are so many different variables.

BFP: So thereís no cutoff point yet?

GW: The current Vermont population is about 626,000, and we could probably support a few more. But then again, we certainly import a lot of stuff: most of our fuel, all of our metals and a lot of our food. Itís nice to have some tropical fruit now and then, like oranges and grapefruit. Mangoes I love. But it involves burning fuel to get it here.

BFP: Are there any useful cautionary tales out there?

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GW: Well, Haiti is kind of a neat comparison to Vermont. We have an almost identical land area ó but their population is about 9.9 million. Imagine that many people in Vermont; itís a scary thought. Theyíve been dependent on foreign food for a long, long time, and theyíve totally fished out the surrounding waters.

BFP: In the absence of such dire symptoms, where should Vermonters be looking for warning signs?

GW: Itís probably going to be in the quality of life. I think Vermonters treasure the small-town atmosphere.

I moved here in 1966, and Iíve climbed Camels Hump a number of times. I remember in those early years when Iíd get to the top, even on a weekend, thereíd be only 10 or a dozen people up there, and it was real pleasant.

On a hike not too long ago, I went up there on a weekend, and there were 200 people. There was barely room find a rock to sit down on. What the heck is going on?

BFP: In the interests of science: Is there a ballpark sustainable growth rate you could come up with?

GW: I would say no: Thereís no such thing. But you canít just keep growing for ever and ever. Youíre going to reach an unsustainable limit sooner or later ó if weíre not there already.

BFP: Any species that can sustain unbridled growth to your knowledge?

GW: No. All of them have limits. Itís food, for most species. Others are kept in check by predators. But there are some wonderful species in the world that have just been decimated because humans have taken over their habitat. We did that with the buffalo in this country.

BFP: Whatís allowed our growth to continue?

GW: Historically, there were diseases that were out of control. People had kids partly because they knew some of them would die.

BFP: Can you point to any population-related health issues in Chittenden County?

GW: Psychologically, yes.

BFP: I mean, are our immune systems being compromised by repeated exposure to stuff like traffic jams?

GW: Itís a little far-fetched. But it would certainly be a stress. And people who are more stressed tend to have a shorter lifespan. But they still live long enough to reproduce ... (laughs)